Unhappy with breast reconstruction after mastectomy

Many women who have a mastectomy—surgery to remove an entire breast to treat or prevent breast cancer—have the option of having the shape of the removed breast rebuilt.

Women who choose to have their breasts rebuilt have several options for how it can be done.

Breasts can be rebuilt using implants (saline or silicone).

New breast reconstruction techniques

They can also be rebuilt using autologous tissue (that is, tissue from elsewhere in the body). Sometimes both implants and autologous tissue are used to rebuild the breast.

Surgery to reconstruct the breasts can be done (or started) at the time of the mastectomy (which is called immediate reconstruction) or it can be done after the mastectomy incisions have healed and breast cancer therapy has been completed (which is called delayed reconstruction).

Delayed reconstruction can happen months or even years after the mastectomy.

In a final stage of breast reconstruction, a nipple and areola may be re-created on the reconstructed breast, if these were not preserved during the mastectomy.

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